Jeffrey Jones, the managing editor of the Gallup Poll, which did the study, said, “People who are near retirement age in their 50s and 60s are looking at the cost of living, medical costs, Social Security benefits, retirement plans and food costs have a better sense of what things might be like when they actually retire. They are more aware that early retirement might not be as much of a realistic option for people today as it was 30 or 40 years ago.”

Think of what their plight might be like, considering retirement without the safety nets of Social Security or Medicare.

So, next time you hear a politician talk about entitlement programs and public employee pensions as if they were the culprits for our present fiscal problems, think of what the nation and our senior citizens would be like without them. Take a look at your paycheck and see what you are spending each week for FICA and health costs.